The Sick Room
by mentalsunflower
Summary: Haru knows it's wrong. But when has that ever stopped him before? Haru x Rin


**A/N:** Just a small one shot of Haru visiting Rin at the hospital, and they leave for one of their daily walks. I think I made this so it's the visit before Rin calls him in to tell him she doesn't want to be with him anymore. REMEMBER: I've only read up to volume eleven, so things might be a little screwy!

**Disclaimer: **Natsuki Takaya. GOD, why can't _I_ be creative like her?

**The Sick Room**

Haru knows it's wrong. But when has that ever stopped him before?

Haru walks into the hospital, shoes clacking loudly against the floor. His surroundings are quiet; nothing but a soft sound of beeps from a distant machine echo in his ears.

He walks to the front desk, grabbing his wallet out of his back pocket. He's still wearing his school uniform, as he's skipping his History class to visit her. Wearing plenty of his accessories, which consist of three necklaces, five bracelets on each wrist, and his usual earrings, he throws his white hair out of his eyes, waiting for the nurse who was scribbling something down to look up. He coughs for a hint.

She doesn't move.

"Excuse me," he says in his most polite voice.

"Just a moment," she drones, flipping through some papers. Haru sighs heavily, tapping his ID card on the desk in an annoying sort of way.

She won't wait all day. He knows her. He'll be a second late, and she'll decide to shut him out. Maybe even call the nurses to drag him out like last time.

But this time, he knows it will be different.

"And you are…?" The nurse finally walks over to him.

"I'm Hatsuharu Sohma," he drawls, flipping his ID card expertly through his fingers and showing it to her. "I'm here to visit Isuzu Sohma."

"Hmm…" The nurse takes the card delicately out of his fingers to inspect it.

"Family?" she asks jerkily.

"Well I'd think so, considering we have the same last name and all," he tells her casually, a hint of subtle sarcasm dripping off of his words. The nurse gives a huff and walks briskly over to her computer, where she begins to scan the list of rooms. Haru smirks to himself. One look at the card, and they all believe he's a lonely brother of Rin.

Yea right.

"She's in room 145, third door when you turn a left up there." As the nurse hands him back his card, she points to the hall that lies beside the desk. Haru gives a slight, mocking bow.

"Thank you very much."

She gives him a pinched glare and turns back to her files. Smirking slightly, Haru walks down the hall with a slight spring in his step.

He gets to see Rin. He misses her. He hasn't seen her in what feels like forever. He knows she misses him too. Her voice had sounded lonely on the phone when she called him the other day. Haru grins to himself. He's the only one that can make Rin happier. Sure, that included ditching the hospital, but what did _that _matter? Whenever they left, he was always a bit concerned for her health. The way she would sweat when she walked, the shuddering breaths she would take. The way she wobbled as she hobbled down the street with him. He knows she is slowly getting better, but he wonders if sneaking out with her is only making it worse.

Taking a sharp left, Haru slides his card easily back into his wallet, tucking it safely in his back pocket. He can't wait to see her. It's almost an ache inside of him. But of course, Haru would never admit that to anybody. Not even Rin herself. She would sneer at him and probably tease him. She wasn't the kind to snuggle up close and open her feelings to Haru. And he prefers it that way.

At the third door, he knocks lightly four times. He hears the hurried footsteps across the hard floor, the creaking of the bed as someone jumps back in. He grins to himself. Already she's out of bed. She won't let the nurses see that though, or else she'll be stuck in the hospital even longer.

"Who is it?" she asks.

"Me," Haru replies, his heart thumping.

"Oh, come in," she replies quickly, her voice sounding much more normal than her first question had. Haru opens the door quietly and slips in, closing it behind him. He turns around to see Rin getting out of her bed again.

The room is small and cramped. The bathroom is right beside him, hidden behind small, plastic-like walls. A monitor is beside Rin's bed, and a tray of food sits, forgotten, on the stand on her bed. Her face still has some minor cuts, and her arm has one long bruise from the elbow to the wrist, but other than that she looks fine. Haru walks over to help her out of bed. She swats his hand away.

"I can do it myself!" she snaps, trembling slightly as she stands up. She's wearing her favourite high-heeled boots, and her usual outfit of short leather skirt and skimpy, tight shirt. Her hair is pulled into a braid today, which is a style not often worn by her.

She sees Haru's eyes on her hair. "The nurses made me do it," she informs him. "Can we leave now? I'm getting _so_ sick of this place."

Haru smirks as he walks over to the window, shoving it aside and popping out the screen. "With pleasure," he reassures her, getting out of the way so she can jump out of the window first. They're still on the ground floor, so the ground is only a hop away.

Haru follows from behind, sliding the window shut as Rin hides the screen behind the decorative bushes that line the hospital walls.

Haru can't help but ask as he sees Rin's sweaty face. "Rin? Are you okay?"

She sends him a ferocious glare, which quickly softens into just a glare. "I'm all right," she reassures him, grasping onto his hand. Haru squeezed back, not knowing if she was holding his hand out of affection or need of stability.

The two walk slowly down the sidewalk. They don't talk much. They don't have to. Haru watches Rin as she glances at everything around them—the busy streets, the cars, the flashing lights of buildings and the budding flowers that poke of the cements surface.

"I can't wait till you can get out," Haru informs her suddenly. Rin looks over at him, grasping his hand a little tighter.

"Me neither. I never get to see you."

Haru makes a face. "My new school is more…_enforced_ than the old one."

"Isn't it the same one that that…girl goes to?"

He decides it's safest to act stupid. "Which girl?"

"_The_ girl!" Rin whispers viciously. "The one that knows about us."

"Oh. Yea. She does."

Rin is silent. Haru know she's about to burst. "Yes?" he asks pleasantly, smirking. Rin frowns slightly.

"Well…is she pretty?"

Haru almost grins at the jealousy in Rin's tone. "She's normal," he replies assuredly. "Definitely not as beautiful as you." The words are out before he can stop them. But he decides, what with the delighted expression that overtook Rin's face, it was okay to say them.

Rin lets out a little cough. Haru stops. "Rin, are you sure you're okay?"

Rin nods ferociously. "I'm fine! Don't worry about it. Let's go get something to eat, okay? I'm starved." She tries to walk ahead, but her legs collapse beneath her. She's still holding hands with Haru, though, so he's fast enough to reach out and grab her before she tumbles to the sidewalk.

"That's it Rin," he says sternly, helping her stand up again. This time, she doesn't fight. Her breath is coming in shallow gasps, and her eyes are wide with something like shock. He can feel her trembling as he swings her arm around his shoulders. "You're going back to the hospital."

Rin gives a little gasp and wrenches her arms away from him. She stands apart from him, glaring. "I'm _okay._ I don't need to go back! I don't _want_ to go back! I want to go back home! I HATE that place! I _HATE _IT!" She screams the last part, but Haru merely flinches at her tone.

"I know," he says soothingly, taking a step closer to her. She backs away like a wounded animal. "But the fastest way to get out is to go back and heal." He hesitates, and then continues. "I'm not too sure our walks are helping you, anyway."

Rin's arms, which were held defensively around her shoulders, drop to her sides in something like defeat. "Oh," she says in a hollow voice. "Okay."  
"I don't mean it like that," Haru tries to explain; knowing Rin is starting to build up her wall around her. "I just mean…I want you to get better. I want you to get out."

"So LET me! Let me get out! Take me back to the estates! I'm fine! I'll be fine! I'm _fine._" She's breathing heavily, and the crowds of people that are walking down the street take great care in avoiding the two. Haru still has his hands up in an "I'm innocent" gesture. He looks at her, confused.

"Rin, there's something you still need to go the hospital for, but I don't know what it is. I hear the adults talking. They say there's something wrong inside of you. You can't come back home until that's better."

"I'm not stupid!" Rin snaps angrily. "I _know_ there's something wrong with me. I got beat up, didn't I?" Her voice is becoming unnaturally shrill as she stares Haru down. "I just want to _leave! _I thought you'd want me to leave too. I thought you'd want me to come back!" Her legs tremble with the effort of standing up. She tries her hardest to stand up taller. Haru can see the strain.

"Rin…" He sighs heavily, knowing there's nothing he can say. She won't believe another word that comes out of his mouth. Not now.

"Just…go away!" Rin screams, backing up again. Haru takes another step closer. Rin's eyes are shut tight, and there's an indescribable look of pain on her face Haru has never seen before. "Just leave me ALONE!"

Before Haru can reply, her knees collapse underneath her. Her body crumples to the ground, her eyes rolling. Haru leaps over, but not in time. She's on the hard cement, her skin a sallow pale and her body still trembling. "Rin?" he asks nervously. "Rin?" There's no answer. He checks her pulse. It's still there. Before he can think of what else to do, he scoops her up in his arms and begins to walk towards the hospital, where he knows she'll be safe.

He's tucking her into the bed. He has safely gotten the screen in the window back in place, as well as closing the glass. He can't change Rin out of her clothes, so he just leaves her in them, tucking the quilt close up to her chin so the nurses can't tell.

Haru gazes at her suddenly, brushing a stray hair away from her face. It's not angry anymore, but he can clearly envision the look of pure hatred and confusion that had been etched on it earlier. He hated knowing that expression had been meant for _him._ But…if only she understood. If only she knew he just wants her to be safe.

He watches her for a few more seconds, but then stands up to leave. He can't stay around any longer. "Goodbye Rin," he whispers quietly, taking two hesitant steps back. She won't look at me again, he thinks. She's going to hate me for the rest of her life.

"Just…get better," he tells her softly. Then, he turns around and leaves the hospital room, closing the door with a soft click.

It wasn't until after he went back to school and the day ended, when he was in his own room, he slumped onto his bed in defeat of his emotions. "She hates me," he moans. "But I can't hate her. She…she can despise me all she likes. But I can't despise her." Haru takes a deep breath, and then punches the nearest pillow with some kind of emotion that was clearly not anger. "I can't…because I _love_ her."


End file.
